By Bernard Minier. Tr. by AlisonAnderson.

This third entry in the highly praised
Martin Servaz series finds the police commandant confined to a clinic in the depths
of a dark and icy Pyrenees
winter. He is beset by vicious nightmares and
grappling with issues from
his experiences in The Circle
(2015). When he receives
a key card to a hotel room
in the mail, a room where
a woman committed suicide a year earlier, Servaz goes AWOL. He
uncovers evidence that she was cruelly and
deliberately hounded to death. After Christine Steinmeyer finds an anonymous suicide
note in her mailbox on Christmas Eve, it
seems as though someone has taken over her
life, which has become a gruesome and terrifying waking dream. Servaz is the only one
who believes her bizarre story. This is not
your ordinary stalker thriller. Christine is
not easy prey. After her initial fear subsides,
her intelligence and determination, guided
by an inspiring inner voice, bring about an
astonishing transformation. This is not Gone
Girl. It is Go, Girl! No one is the person they
seem at first to be. Each of the characters either greatly deceives the reader or manages
to rise to a challenge unexpectedly. It is a
brilliant aria da capo, set appropriately to an
operatic soundtrack, with a surprising and
thoroughly satisfying conclusion. Perfect for
fans of Martin Walker’s Bruno Courrèges series. —Jane Murphy

Fields Where They Lay.By Timothy Hallinan.

Oct. 2016. 384p. Soho, $25.95 (9781616957469).

Somebody is stealing stuff from a mall thattime forgot, located deep in the ass end of theSan Fernando Valley. The down-market mob-ster, Trip Poindexter, who owns the mall ispissed and hires Junior Bender, a thief himselfwhen he’s not sleuthing for the crooks of L.A.,it’s Christmas in sunny California, and Juniorconsiders the whole yuletide season “the lastletdown before the theoretically happy NewYear.” There might not even be a new year thistime if Junior doesn’t nab the thief, but his firsttour of the mall leaves him clueless, convincedonly that the culprit is neither of the two San-tas—the too-thin one named Schlomo, who’sat least relatively merry, and the appropriatelysized one who’s way too mean for the job. Thensomeone ups the Christmas ante by murderingone of the shop owners. Naturally, Junior findsa cobwebby network of double crosses burieddeep in the mall’s crumbling foundation andmust dance his way way to a life-saving solu-tion (while somehow getting his Christmasshopping done). Nobody does comic mysterywith an edge better than Hallinan. —Bill Ott

Jack McBride, the police chief of Stillwater, Texas, has both professional and personal
problems to contend with after just six weeks
on the job. His initial reputation of attracting crime to the quiet town is reinforced
when two charred bodies are found in the
ruins of a ramshackle house after it burns
down. And just before Jack files for divorce
from his wife, Julie, she returns, after taking off for a year and leaving Jack and their
13-year-old son, Ethan. But Jack, digging
into records linking his predecessor with
Stillwater’s major employer, Joe Doyle, who
also runs an undercover drug business, wants
to make a new life with Ellie Martin, local
bookshop owner running for city council
against incumbent Doyle. Two more murders lead to increased criticism of the new
chief and may signal the end of his career
in Stillwater. The second in Lenhardt’s Jack
McBride mysteries, after Stillwater (2015),
is a fast-moving whodunit with compelling
subplots and an appealing protagonist who’s
likely to keep winning fans. —Michele Leber

Josie Prescott, of Prescott’s Antiques &
Auctions, is thrilled when Edwin Towson
calls to ask her to authenticate a rare Tiffany
lamp. The lamp turns out to be genuine and
worth a fortune. However, Josie is stunned
when she learns Ava Towson has been murdered, and it turns out that Ava is not the
woman Josie met when she picked up the
lamp. Furious at being conned—the couple
who impersonated the Towsons appear to
have stolen the authentic lamp and left a
reproduction in its place—Josie sets out to
find the imposters and identify Ava’s murderer. Josie is a hardworking small-business
woman who often helps the local police
department, sharing antiques-related information. Small-town, seacoast Rocky Point,
New Hampshire, is lovingly described,
and details about Tiffany lamps and other
antiques and collectibles are woven throughout this satisfying cozy, which will appeal
to readers of Barbara Allan’s Brandy Borne
cozies and Lea Wait’s Maggie Summer mysteries. —Sue O’Brien

Set in 1893 in Leeds, England, this historical procedural brings back DI Tom Harper
in another baffling case. This one begins at
the demonstration of a naval torpedo on the
lake in Roundhay Park. When the torpedo
goes off, there’s an unexpected result: a body
surfaces from the depths of the lake. Shortly
afterward, a woman’s leg is found in the canal,
with no body attached. When two more bodies are found, Harper is worried there may be
a serial killer on the loose. But then he discovers that there could be a link to the city’s two
most notorious criminal gangs and, worse,
that another, even-more-powerful gang may
be moving into Leeds in a takeover bid. Dead
ends proliferate, and even when Tom’s superintendent is convinced the case has been cracked,
Tom is still unsure. Outstanding period detail,
complex characters, a twisty plot, plenty of
surprises, and a likable protagonist make for
an engaging and intriguing read. Recommend
this one to fans of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and
Thomas Pitt series. —Emily Melton

Judgment of Murder.

By C. S. Challinor.

Nov. 2016. 216p. Midnight Ink, paper, $14.99
(9780738750095).

When Gordon Murgatroyd, a retired judge
from Scotland’s High Court of the Judiciary,
whose nickname was Judge Murder due to
his readiness to pass harsh sentences, passes
away, his daughter, Phoebe Wells, asks prosecutor Rex Graves to travel to Canterbury
to see her. The official verdict of her father’s
death was natural causes, but Phoebe believes
he may have been murdered, as several items
were missing from the judge’s bedroom after
his death. Not entirely convinced that Phoebe
is correct, Rex agrees to investigate, thanks
to his long relationship with the judge. He
begins with people who had been sentenced
by the judge and had recently been released
from prison. He also includes a suspect who,
years ago, at the judge’s behest, was not convicted of killing a teen; but now another teen
is missing in a similar manner. Was the judge
wrong? Rex untangles the mystery of the
judge’s death while almost losing his life but
saving the life of another. Multiple plotlines,
a long-distance romantic relationship, and a
cast of interesting, well-drawn characters add
to this satisfying mystery. —Sue O’Brien

Ted McKay is seconds away from committing
suicide when he’s interrupted by a mysterious
visitor who somehow knows about his terminal brain tumor and his suicidal intent. The
visitor proposes that, rather than ending it
all, Ted should join an organization designed
to help rid society of monstrous criminals left